Umbruke
This page pertains to the collaborative "Thrive Universe" project and is not necessarily part of Thrive's official development. More information here. "The Umbruke Collective is a political entity located in a vast region of space. Their technology is extraordinarily advanced and quite impressive, but their ways go against the Revolutionary values of the Union and the Commonwealth at large. They are a grave threat. The most logical course of action would be to seek allies against them." - Members of the Commonwealth Biology The Umbruke (Compactum Machinamentum) are a species of cybernetic beings. All Umbruke are linked into a hive mind which connects all of them and allows information to spread to every existing drone. The Umbruke don't need to have a body plan that could use tools, as they're bioengineers and edited themselves to be unrecognisable from how they originally evolved. The nature of cybernetic implants varies from drone to drone depending on its intended function, but basic nodes of interlink for communications with the Collective and a neural cortical array to control movements are implemented in every drone. In most cases, an eye would be replaced with an eyepiece that improved vision and an arm would be amputated altogether to make room for a functional prosthetic. The brain has been removed and replaced with a digital computer, containing massive amounts of data and is capable of transferring digital copies of minds into other devices. The Umbruke have a writing system made up of geometric symbols and shapes. Language is through radio waves that contain information and data, which is transmitted to other autonomous drones througout the Collective. As they're easily automated, dull repetitive tasks are considered pretty good jobs by a lot of the sluggish parts of Umbruke society. Work as punishment is more complex work that changes a lot. It takes a rather unique mind to choose to go into the Temple of Research voluntarily, and doubly so to want more of a challenge. If one of them needs a certain object, they could communicate the words 'want object', the sensible way, or upload their entire definition of the desired object directly to another's mind complete with the experience of needing something for thousands of known species, the mildly annoying and inconsiderate way. Reproduction The Umbruke do not have the organs necessary for reproduction, but instead use methods of cloning. Young Umbruke start out as simple spores in the ground, taking in decaying matter to turn into nutrients. Eventually, they become sentient enough to manage how much they take in. When the spore reaches the age of eighteen, it is taken out of the ground and placed with broodlings. They do not cybernetic enhancements yet and look nothing like adult Umbruke. As they continue to take in more matter, the converted nutrients are used to cultivate prehensile arms, legs and other vital features. Soon, the body structure is similar to that of an adult Umbruke, only smaller. The broodlings are taken into special facilities to be 'enhanced' with cybernetic attachments and prosthetics. Culture Little is known about Umbruke culture and customs, but it is common to end up with overly long and verbose sentence structures. Architecture Because of the Umbruke's utilitarianistic idealistics, all structures and buildings have no unique shapes. Most of them are large, towering structures in the shape of rectangles and squares, often packed together in clusters with bridges and walkways connecting them together. These clusters are most commonly seen on Hive Worlds, terrestrial worlds with ecumenolpolises. Slave Races Slave races are sapient, primitive or advanced, races subjugated by the Collective. Though they aren't used as slaves, they're used as test subjects for various experiments, their populations are regulated, and their lives are heavily monitored. Some Slave Races have declared their independence from the Collective, forming their own governments through rebellions. Technology Umbruke technology is a combination of technologies assimilated from other civilisations and developed within the Collective for more effecient use in order to overcome specific obstacles. When confronted by a problem it could not solve with its existing resources and or configuration, the entire Collective would work in unison to consider all possible solutions and implement the one determined to be the most efficient. Umbruke ships are built on planets in structural landing configurations. Four nuclear boosters and twelve droptanks are built on the ship before launch. After they escape the planets atmosphere, the attachments decouple and the ship is ready for use. If they are ordered to land, machines are sent out to construct the landing configuration again. The Umbruke are mass producers, using nanobots that continue to spread rapidly throughout the Collective and develop learning algorithms. Government Main Article: Umbruke Collective Main Article: Oversight Main Article: Insight